Copenhagen, Denmark

By | November 26, 2021

According to abbreviationfinder, Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark and is recognized worldwide as “The Danish Riviera”. It is a model city, calm and orderly, the largest and most prosperous in the country. It is surrounded by a great stone wall, built in the 13th century and constituted as a great business, cultural and scientific center.

Name’s origin

At the time of its foundation, shortly after the year 1000, it was baptized with the simple name of Havn, which in Danish means port or dock. Over time, the name became more complicated, giving rise to The Bay of Merchants or Kobmandshavn, a name that derived in Kobenhavn. This name, derived from the German form Kopenhagen and Castilianized, is Copenhagen.

History

It was a fishing village until the middle of the 12th century. Its importance grew when it became the possession of Bishop Axel Absalón, who ordered the fortification of the town in 1167.

Due to the presence of a port, it soon became a place of commercial importance and received municipal rights in the middle of the 13th century, frequently clashing with the Hanseatic cities. In 1443, Christopher III of Bavaria, chose Copenhagen as the capital of Denmark. Between 1658 and 1659 it endured a severe siege by the Swedes, led by Carlos X Gustavo.

In 1801, during the Napoleonic Wars, in an effort to force the Danes to recognize the right of the British to sail the high seas, a British fleet, commanded by Admiral Horatio Nelson, destroyed a Danish fleet in the port of Copenhagen. In 1807 the city suffered severe damage, and hundreds of people were killed, when the ships of the British naval fleet bombarded it, to prevent Denmark from surrendering its fleet to Napoleon Bonaparte. During World War II, Copenhagen was occupied by German troops from April 1940 to May 1945.

Physical-geographical characteristics

Limits

  • South: with the Strait of Fehmarn.
  • West: with the North Sea.
  • East: with the Baltic Sea.
  • North: with the Straits of Kettegat and Sund.

Climate

Copenhagen has an oceanic climate, with moderate summers and rainy winters. The average temperature reaches 16 ° C in summer and 0 ° C in winter. Frequent changes in wind direction cause wide fluctuations in temperature. Annual rainfall is 610 mm on average; snowfalls account for 10% of this total.

Population

Copenhagen’s population is extremely homogeneous; 96% are of Danish origin and are closely related to other Scandinavian peoples, especially Norway and Sweden. See population of Denmark.

Economic development

The port of Copenhagen is the most important commercial center in Denmark ; a large part of the country’s foreign and domestic trade passes through its facilities. Among the exports are: cattle, wool, cereals and dairy products. Coal, oil and industrial raw materials are also imported.

Copenhagen’s industrial facilities include shipyards (shipbuilding), machine shops, engine manufacturing plants, chemical industries, textile and precision instrument factories, watches, pianos, leather products, tobacco and chocolate; there are also sugar refineries, liquor stores and distilleries.

The city, internationally famous for the production of fine porcelain, also excels in the production of hand-forged silver tableware. In addition, in Copenhagen there are large factories, among them the beer factories stand out.

Important companies and cultural institutions have established their headquarters and offices in this municipality such as: Carlsberg, Microsoft or the National Museum of the country. In addition, it is a strong precursor of biotechnology, motivating the most prominent scientists in its territory, and cradling large innovative companies in this sector.

Communication

The city is well channeled, several arteries carry traffic across the various bridges that link the various parts of the city. The railway and the bus network meet the needs of regular travelers. The busy Kastrup Airport is located to the southeast of the city, and is Denmark’s main link with the rest of the world.

Social development

Culture

The Royal Theater (Copenhagen) was founded in 1748 and its annex (New Scene) opened in 1931. This institution offers dramatic performances, opera and ballet, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of that country.

Religion

The Lutheranism is the largest religion in Denmark ; about 90% of Danes are, nominally at least, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The monarch must be a member of the Church, but the rest of the population in Denmark enjoys complete religious freedom.

Places of interest

The business district extends northeast over the island of Sjaelland. To the north and east is the most beautiful part of the city, which is home to the royal palaces and government buildings.

At the northern end of the city is the Frihavn (free port), built in 1894.

Copenhagen is largely surrounded by gardens and boulevards that were laid out from 1856 on.

Buildings

Among the main buildings of the city are:

  • Cathedral or Church of Our Lady (Copenhagen).
  • Charlottenborg Palace (Copenhagen) (1672).
  • Prince’s Palace (Copenhagen).
  • National Museum of Northern Antiquities (Copenhagen), founded in 1807.
  • Old royal palace of Christiansborg (Copenhagen) (1731 – 1745).
  • Thorvaldsen Museum (Copenhagen) (1848), which has remarkable sculptures.
  • Royal Theater (Copenhagen) (1874).
  • Royal Library (Copenhagen), which has about 600,000 volumes.

Among the main recreational areas of the city are: the Tivoli Gardens (Copenhagen), a world famous amusement park. The city is the seat of the University of Copenhagen, the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (1856) and the Technical University of Denmark (1829). The city is also an important center for Northern European literature and art and home to the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters (Copenhagen) (1742).

Main attraction

The main attraction and the characteristic symbol that welcomes those who arrive by boat, not only from the city, but also from Denmark, is the well-known Little Mermaid of Copenhagen. This is a bronze sculpture, cast in the shape of a beautiful mermaid, placed on a stone base. The tender figure, so many times outraged by vandals (the last time in 1998, when she was beheaded), is located in Langelinie Park (Copenhagen), in the bay of the city’s port.

Palaces and castles

The Amalienborg Palace (Copenhagen), is a rococo style building and is the seat of the royal family since 1760 ; it also represents one of the most sensational compositions in Danish architecture. It is made up of four symmetrical palaces, called Christian VII, Christian VIII, Christian IX and Federico VIII. All of them are located around an octagonal square, in the center of which is the statue of Federico V. If the traveler wants to see its interior, he will only be able to see the one of the Christian VII and Christian VIII buildings, but will undoubtedly be impressed due to its extraordinary magnitude and its luxurious decoration.

The Castle Hillerod (Copenhagen) or Helsingor (the castle of the prince Hamlet), was built under the reign of Frederick II in the sixteenth century. This construction still has its medieval quarter, it is an old neighborhood that crosses the pedestrian street of Snemosde, with its center in Axeltorv, the market square.

Bridge opening

The opening of the bridge between Denmark and Sweden has made it the capital of the Oresund region, a dynamic territory that includes the southern part of Sweden and cities such as Malmoe, Lund or Helsingborg, which will also become inexcusable references.

Copenhagen, Denmark